Corona case numbers burden health care: intensive care units at the limit

Only one free intensive care bed in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district, an intensive care bed occupancy rate of over 90 percent in the rescue association: The fourth wave of the corona pandemic has arrived in the hospitals - and is encountering fewer staff there.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen

- The number of corona cases in the district is rising and rising, the number of unreported cases can only be guessed at. While the entire country went into lockdown at far lower incidences around a year ago, pandemic management has now largely shifted to the county level. The district has already pulled the rip cord (we reported): From Saturday, stricter corona rules will come into force because the state government's new hotspot regulation will then take effect.

One of the reasons for the tightening of the rules: the high utilization of the intensive care beds.

If only the two hospitals in the district had their own corona traffic light, they would glow in the deepest dark red.

There are a total of 24 intensive care beds, 14 in the Wolfratshausen District Clinic and ten in the Asklepios Clinic Bad Tölz.

Of the 24 beds, 23 were already occupied on Wednesday, which the clinics confirmed on Thursday.

"The hospitals are full," says Dr.

Martin Dotzer in conversation with the Tölzer Kurier.

"Our beds are more than full."

Intensive care beds: Over 90 percent occupancy

Dotzer should know: As the intensive care bed coordinator in the emergency rescue association - in addition to Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, this includes Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen - the intensive care doctor and chief physician at the Murnau Accident Clinic is responsible for occupying the intensive care beds in the seven acute hospitals in the three districts . And it hardly looks better in the emergency rescue association: There are 91 intensive care beds in total in the three districts, of which 85 were occupied on Wednesday, 16 of them with corona patients. That means: There are only six free beds in the rescue association, the occupancy on Thursday was 91 percent. Even if the numbers can vary a bit from day to day, the intensive care units are again at their limit. Of the 16 corona patients, he knows from conversations with colleaguesthat "about 90 percent of these patients are not vaccinated," says Dotzer.

The fact that patients are distributed to the various clinics within the special-purpose association, "that has always been our plus," says Dotzer.

But: “All in all, it's just very tight.” And in the field of intensive care medicine, six patients are “day-to-day business”.

It is true that in the Zweckverband “no patient has yet to be moved outside”, in other words to a more distant hospital with still free beds, “if there are more now, we are also at the limit,” explains Dotzer.

And you simply cannot make beds free.

"The beds are there, but the staff is missing"

What may be surprising: The number of corona patients under intensive care was already higher. In the wedding of the second wave, there were 28, reports Dotzer. However, it is not comparable with the current status, because there were more intensive care beds because the clinics could operate even more. In numbers: Dotzer was able to occupy 18 more intensive care beds at the time. “The beds are there, but the staff is missing,” he says. In the Murnau Accident Clinic alone, 15 beds were lost.

Ingo Kühn, Managing Director of the Wolfratshausen District Clinic, confirms the staff-related shortage of intensive care beds.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, since Corona has determined everyday clinical routine more, sometimes less, this has been draining staff levels.

"We already have layoffs," said Kühn.

Basically, the situation in the intensive care unit is “extremely stressful.

The pure basic and standard care is burdensome, but the Covid supply is even more burdensome ”.

The city clinic, on the other hand, gained “many additional employees” during the pandemic, as managing director Felix Rauschek announced on request.

No need to postpone surgery yet

Despite the warning of the collapse of the intensive care area, which is bleeding out in terms of personnel, no operations that can be planned have been postponed in the two district clinics.

"The Asklepios City Clinic continues to offer the full range of treatments and carries out planned operations, treatments and consultation hours on a regular basis," said Rauschek.

"It is important that we continue to take care of the patients who need hospital treatment, which is not essential for life, but still significantly reduces the suffering and complaints of those affected." planned operations. ”However, should the situation worsen, postponements may be necessary.

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That will change because of the corona pandemic in the district from the weekend.